Any benefit to waiting for Kaby Lake iMacs?

[GalileoSeven]

I'm looking to upgrade my mid-2011 Mac Mini and wanted to go with an iMac, given that I can use an adapter to connect my existing 27" display. I've looked around at my retailer of choice and can get a Retina 4K 21.5" model (https://www.nfm.com/DetailsPage.aspx?productid=44484517) or a Retina 5K 27" model (https://www.nfm.com/DetailsPage.aspx?productid=44484541) for a comparative steal.

This would basically be my all-around workhorse. Web browsing, word processing, music/movies and moderate work in Photoshop & Lightroom (which is do-able on my mini right now, albeit with a few hiccups). With that said, I'm wondering if there would be any real benefit to waiting for new Kaby Lake-equipped machines?

 

[MRrainer]

There will certainly be more performance-oriented models coming this fall - Apple came very short of admitting this.
But we all know Apple. They will come at a price.

So, if you can wait some more, wait. Prices might not come down much more, but you'll get better hardware for the same money.

I wouldn't expect the Kaby Lake iMacs to arrive before September. Knowing Apple, November is probably more realistic.
You might be able to get a few very good deals out of Black Friday, though.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

I'm looking to upgrade my mid-2011 Mac Mini and wanted to go with an iMac, given that I can use an adapter to connect my existing 27" display. I've looked around at my retailer of choice and can get a Retina 4K 21.5" model (https://www.nfm.com/DetailsPage.aspx?productid=44484517) or a Retina 5K 27" model (https://www.nfm.com/DetailsPage.aspx?productid=44484541) for a comparative steal.

This would basically be my all-around workhorse. Web browsing, word processing, music/movies and moderate work in Photoshop & Lightroom (which is do-able on my mini right now, albeit with a few hiccups). With that said, I'm wondering if there would be any real benefit to waiting for new Kaby Lake-equipped machines?

Processor wise not really but the next generation will have much better graphics cards however its looking like quite a wait at the moment.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

If your 6 year old Mac Mini is still going strong for what you do with it, you'll have absolutely nothing to gain waiting for a new iMac compared to the current model.

 

[maflynn]

People are expecting a kaby lake based iMAc with a better dGPU and USB-C ports. If those components mean something to you, then hold off. If it were me and I could use another computer while waiting, I would.

I did that when I was waiting for a laptop and my iMac and I'm happy I did.

 

[theluggage]

With that said, I'm wondering if there would be any real benefit to waiting for new Kaby Lake-equipped machines?

The eternal mantra: (A) if you need a new machine now, buy now - especially if you know the current offering will get the job done. (B) If your existing system is already getting the job done, wait, or (C) If you're just pining for that "new computer" smell then its up to you to decide how much irrationality you can afford...

More helpfully: the Kaby Lake CPUs themselves aren't worth waiting for - especially in the case of the 27" iMac which already has fairly up-to-date Skylake CPUs.

However, the new 27" iMacs will probably have better graphics chip options and include Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports - if those are important to you (but the existing 27" iMac should still be a decent upgrade from your mini).

Weigh against that the chance that Apple could make less welcome changes to the range: soldered-in RAM for the 27", soldered-in SSD (at least the current models have the potential for upgrade), dropping all the legacy ports, bumping up the price...

 

[960design]

I'm looking to upgrade my mid-2011 Mac Mini and wanted to go with an iMac, given that I can use an adapter to connect my existing 27" display. I've looked around at my retailer of choice and can get a Retina 4K 21.5" model (https://www.nfm.com/DetailsPage.aspx?productid=44484517) or a Retina 5K 27" model (https://www.nfm.com/DetailsPage.aspx?productid=44484541) for a comparative steal.

Or you could get it from Apple for the same price or less:
https://www.apple.com/us-hed/shop/buy-mac/imac?product=MK462LL/A&step=config#

 

[GalileoSeven]

The eternal mantra: (A) if you need a new machine now, buy now - especially if you know the current offering will get the job done. (B) If your existing system is already getting the job done, wait, or (C) If you're just pining for that "new computer" smell then its up to you to decide how much irrationality you can afford...

More helpfully: the Kaby Lake CPUs themselves aren't worth waiting for - especially in the case of the 27" iMac which already has fairly up-to-date Skylake CPUs.

However, the new 27" iMacs will probably have better graphics chip options and include Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports - if those are important to you (but the existing 27" iMac should still be a decent upgrade from your mini).

Weigh against that the chance that Apple could make less welcome changes to the range: soldered-in RAM for the 27", soldered-in SSD (at least the current models have the potential for upgrade), dropping all the legacy ports, bumping up the price...

This is what I was thinking about. I maxed out the ram in my mini (took it from either 2 or 4GB up to 8) and then with the next generation, Apple destroyed the upgrade potential by soldering everything in. However that's not as bad as what you just described there, considering my current setup (potentially having to shell out extra for a dock/adapters for my external HD's, DVD writer and other peripherals).

Either way, moving up now or later would still be an improvement, no matter whether its a Skylake or Kaby Lake machine.

So yeah, am sitting in the grey area, somewhere between B and C

 

[960design]

...Either way, moving up now or later would still be an improvement, no matter whether its a Skylake or Kaby Lake machine.

I update every three years and have made it a policy to not worry about something new coming out... something new will always come out. Apple has a 15 day return policy, if something were to come out AMAZING within 15 days of my purchase I would return it. This has not happened once in over a decade of upgrades.

 

[MRrainer]

Apple are in a unique position. Not only do they know when pretty much all of their computers are bought, they also know the exact spec and if they've been upgraded.

As such, I trust Apple to release hardware at a point in time where the least amount of people can return a recent purchase now deemed inferior ;-)